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Interleukin-17 gene expression in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Modern Rheumatology

Abstract

Interleukin-17 is a proinflammatory cytokine. Recent animal studies have shown that IL-17 plays a role in the initiation and progression of arthritis. However, whether IL-17 has a prominent role in human rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or not remains unclear. Here we investigated the role of IL-17 in patients with RA. cDNA was prepared from knee joint synovial tissues of RA (n = 11) and osteoarthritic (OA, n = 10) patients and PBMC of RA (n = 52) and healthy subjects (n = 34). IL-17 gene expression level was measured by real-time PCR, and was compared with various clinical parameters. IL-17 gene expression in synovial tissues of RA was similar to that in OA. IL-17 gene expression level in PBMC of RA patients was significantly higher than in the control. The response (changes in DAS) to two-week treatment with anti-TNF-α blockers (infliximab or etanercept) did not correlate with changes in IL-17 gene expression levels. The IL-17/TNF-α gene expression ratio at baseline (before treatment) tended to be lower in responders to the treatment. Expression of IL-17 gene in PBMC may be associated with the inflammatory process of RA. IL-17/TNF-α expression ratio is a potentially suitable marker of response to anti-TNF-α therapy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Clinical Immunology, Major of Advanced Biomedical Applications, Graduate School Comprehensive Human Science, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennnodai, Tsukuba, 305-8575, Japan

    Mika Kohno, Akito Tsutsumi, Hiroto Matsui, Makoto Sugihara, Takeshi Suzuki, Mizuko Mamura, Daisuke Goto, Isao Matsumoto, Satoshi Ito & Takayuki Sumida

  2. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, Toho University, Tokyo, Japan

    Toru Suguro

Authors
  1. Mika Kohno
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  2. Akito Tsutsumi
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  3. Hiroto Matsui
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  4. Makoto Sugihara
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  11. Takayuki Sumida
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Correspondence to Takayuki Sumida.

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Kohno, M., Tsutsumi, A., Matsui, H. et al. Interleukin-17 gene expression in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Mod Rheumatol 18, 15–22 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10165-007-0015-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10165-007-0015-y

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